Senate 2006
Pennsylvania: Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R.-N.C.), as chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, has assigned a bodyguard of fellow Republicans to defend Sen. Rick Santorum (R.-Pa.) from increasingly harsh Democratic attacks on the floor as he faces a tough re-election next year. Santorum’s colleagues have not risen to support him, and Republicans grumble that the Senate Republican Conference, chaired by Santorum and charged with developing the media message for the caucus, has not risen to the challenge either. Under Dole’s plan, a designated Republican senator will take the floor in Santorum’s defense whenever needed.
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D.-Nev.) and Sen. Teddy Kennedy (D.-Mass.) have largely tossed aside Senate comity when dealing with Santorum on the floor this year. As part of an effort to humiliate him as he faces the political fight of his life against state Treasurer Bob Casey, Jr. (D.), Sen. Hillary Clinton (D.-N.Y.) has also sniped at Santorum’s new book, It Takes a Family. The issue is personal for Clinton, since Santorum’s book is intended as a swipe at her 1996 book on child-rearing, It Takes a Village.
The Democrats’ tactics are reminiscent of the shabby, disrespectful treatment received in the Senate last year by Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R.-Alaska) when she was facing a strong election challenge. Democratic senators went so far as to walk out on her when she tried to propose bills in committee.
Rhode Island: When Cranston Mayor Stephen Laffey (R.) entered the primary, conservatives were expecting a challenge to Sen. Lincoln Chafee (R.) from the right. They have been largely disappointed with Laffey’s opening salvos, which have contained rhetoric more comparable to that of Ralph Nader or Franklin Delano Roosvelt than Ronald Reagan or Pat Buchanan. As he denounces large corporations and adopts an economic populist platform, Laffey appears to be aiming at the November 2006 election before winning the September primary.
Although he must obviously avoid the image of a reactionary in Democratic Rhode Island, supporters fear Laffey may be going overboard in his move to the political center and could be losing votes in the Republican primary. Early polls show Chafee ahead, but polling is rather unreliable.
On the Democratic side, former state Atty. Gen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D.) should walk all over Secretary of State Matt Brown (D.), a political lone ranger whose only base of support is in Hollywood.
West Virginia: The conventional wisdom here is unless Rep. Shelley Moore Capito (R.) runs against him, Sen. Robert Byrd (D.) is home-free in seeking his ninth term. This view may be incorrect.
Republicans have an extra card up their sleeve that they have adamantly refused to show in public. Gale Catlett (R.), 64, a well-loved and famous former basketball coach for the West Virginia Mountaineers, is prepared to jump into the race if Capito opts out. The conservative Catlett’s age will certainly not be a factor if he challenges the 87-year-old Byrd, who had already been in Congress for 10 years by the time Catlett graduated from college in 1963. Byrd delayed his re-election announcement by 20 days in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, but Democrats fully expect him to run again. The new date is September 27.
Republicans are increasingly convinced Byrd is losing it—that he is incapable of running a strong campaign at his age, regardless of the amount of money he raises. Democrats, in contrast, are still convinced Byrd is an institution, totally unbeatable in West Virginia. But early polls demonstrate his vulnerability. If Byrd were to drop out, Democrats would probably have moderate Rep. Alan Mollohan (D.) as their candidate.
